Gustavo Petro suspends arrest and extradition orders against ELN negotiators

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced this Saturday that he has authorized the restoration of the protocols with the leaders chosen as negotiators of the National Liberation Army (ELN), as well as suspending the arrest and extradition orders against him.

The announcement came after a security council meeting in the municipality of San Pablo (Bolívar department). Petro signed the corresponding decree this Friday, in an attempt to resume the peace dialogue with the paramilitary forces.

"By decree, signed yesterday, I have authorized the restoration of the protocols, allowing negotiators again, allowing them to reconnect with their organization, suspending arrest warrants for those negotiators, suspending extradition orders for those negotiators, so that a dialogue can begin with the National Liberation Army, as it is called, to try to build the path, hopefully quickly and expeditiously, where this organization ceases to be an insurgent guerrilla in Colombia," declared the president.

"I invite those who make up the so-called self-defense groups to start a similar path and jointly deliver this region to peace and the life of its own members, if they are minors, to society, if they are of legal age, to peaceful existence in the territory or anywhere in the country," he said.

Thanks to the announced measures, Petro hopes that violence will decrease in southern Bolívar, in Magdalena Medio and in the lands surrounding the Magdalena River. "We hope that these dialogue options that we are opening today and that will be opened to more in the perspective of a total peace can really make sure that here in the Middle Magdalena no more young people die, they are civilians, they are uniformed by the State, they are uniformed by the illegality," he concluded.

In statements to RT, Jaime Caycedo, general secretary of the Communist Party of Colombia, described the measure taken by Petro as "very effective", because he - he assures - "has cleared the way to be able to resume dialogue with the ELN."